Cartridge Alignment For Dummies

I thought it was time to go for a new cartridge. I am using an AT-PL120 turntable and am attempting to install a new Denon DL-160 cartridge on it.

My question is about aligning this cartridge. Seeing as I possess close to zero knowledge about cartridge installation, I thought it would be smart to use one of these "stupid protractors" found at: http://www.vinylengine.com/cartridge-alignment-protractors.shtml

Every detailed explanation I've found on how to use these protractors ends up being a little too detailed, and littered with math terms. I realize that this IS a mathematical/physics operation to get this lined up properly, but I need to put this in terms simple enough so that a brain-dead individual like me can understand what's going on.

Is the goal to place the stylus on the center of the cross-hairs, and then ensure the cantilever is in line with the, well, lines? I have heard that the aim is to line up the cantilever with the right angles as opposed to the actual cartridge, but I am having difficulty seeing how one could get the cantilever precisely aligned. It is hard enough to see under the cartridge, but even with a magnifying glass, a couple Halogen lamps and hands like a surgeon, isn't there a chance that the cantilever alignment could be off by a tiny fraction? Would this cause any damage to the records or the stylus? What would be the signs of a mis-aligned cartridge? Am I doing this totally incorrectly?

Any help with this would be a fantastic gift to a forum member in need of a little holiday turntable magic. Your responses are tremendously appreciated! Thanks!

 

Use the overhang tool that comes with the DL-160. The 52mm setting is the one to use with your turntable.

 

Thanks for the reply! If I use this tool, will I need to do any additional fine-tuning using protractors, or can I expect this overhang gauge to leave me with a perfectly aligned cartridge?

 

Above all take your sweet time. It will be worth it.

 

Right, the stylus rests on the cross hairs. And I've found photo paper the best thing to print protractors on.

The reason you do this is because the tone arm is tracing a curve along the record, not a straight line. Imagine a straight line, with a shallow curve intersecting the line, a little of the curve above the line, and a little below it. You'll see that there are only two points where the curve intersects the line, and so cartridge alignment is to have the amount above the line and below the line equal. Those are the two points on the protractor. With the diamond on the first cross-hair, move the tone arm over to the second. If the diamond is behind the second cross hair, move it forward a little, if it is in front of the cross hair, move it back. Keep going back and forth, and adusting, until the diamond is on both cross hairs. The cartridge body must be parallel to the lines. If that is done, any error cause by a crooked cantilever will be minimal. And it would have to be grossly cockeyed to cause an audible distortion. It's the worn stylus that causes groove damage, not minuscule geometry error. I've also found that the PL120 needs an additional half a gram of antiskating. Mine did, at any rate.

 

When doing this method, if I do not move the protractor, the stylus does not match up with the cross-hairs of the second box. However, the stylus matches up fine if I angle the protractor a little differently. Is this incorrect procedure?

 

I've never used the Denon tool, but I have used the similar tool that came with my Technics SL-1200 to set up my daughter's AT-PL120. Of course, the AT is modeled very closely after the Technics. Anyway, the tool worked perfectly for setting up the AT table, so I think the Denon tool should be all that you need.

Paper protractors like the one on enjoythemusic.com work very well, but are harder to use than the Denon or Technics tools, which are pretty much idiot-proof.

 

I have had the same problem, trying to get all the measurements to come together...actually having to loosen the screws on the shell head and angle the whole cart from straight on to crooked to get it to match the vinylengine protractor. After adjusting the VTA I now get one channel that occasionally distorts (but not on all records, just some) and now my tt sounds worse than when I started. Clearly *I* am the one at fault here, a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. Thanks, JBS, for making it a bit clearer on the one hand but I am so unsure now whether I've made it better or worse I'll probably just stick with cd's and let the TT just sit . Then again, I need to stabilize it on a good, solid, flat, non vibrating surface which it isn't at the moment...I know, I know, I put the cart before the horse and of course it won't adjust if an idiot does not fix the basic fundamentals first.

Otherwise I have learned so much from this place I am always grateful for the shared knowledge of the true audiophiles, so this is a chance to once again thank all all of you knowledgable folk for sharing and wish you all a wonderful year end holiday season.

 

The dummy protractors require you to move the protractor to each null point. The two grids will only be in perfect alignment with the cartridge when the overhang is perfect.

The arc protractors are much easier to use but you have to know the exact mounting distance (spindle to pivot distance) of the arm to get the correct protractor.

 

Although a bit pricey the Mint Protractor is an excellent tool.

http://mintlp.com/best.htm

It gives you a mirror surface with an arc specific to your tonearm and two alignment points.

 

How's the GeoDisc that comes with the MSFL box sets?

 

With the cartridge body parallel to the lines on the protractor, the stylus should be on both "targets" without moving the protractor. If it's not, you have to move the cartridge back or forward in the headshell until that happens. And sooner or later, it will. It's just a matter of patience.

 

what if the headshell won't allow enough movement to hit both points perfectly - I read in numerous forums that's it's best to align the cantilever to the inner most point on the protractor, is that correct in that scenario?

 

That makes perfect sense, if you're going to have any misalignment, it's best to put it at the outside of the record, where rotational speed is fastest.

Stereo imaging might not be as pinpoint as it is with correct alignment.

 

I have noticed a lot of distortion on the inner tracks of some older jazz records I have. It's mainly during really intense horn notes, specifically trumpets. What's odd is on newer records I have I don't notice this. I am not sure if my cart is misaligned or these records have been damaged by the previous owner's setup. They all look NM to VG+.

My setup consists of a Technics 1210 and Shure V15III with Jico SAS stylus, I just have it setup with the white overhang guage. I have the tracking weight set at 1.25, same with anti-skate. I bought a cart align tool a while back and it looks perfect to me, I don't know how exacting these things have to be (if it's sub-mm alignment I am probably not the person to be doing this).

 

FYI - I've got a MintLP protractor for Rega tonearms if anyone's interested. I don't need it anymore since moving to a Rega Exact and the 3-pt mounting. Less fuss.

 

Heavy Sounds

Nothing odd about not noticing record wear on newer records. Sounds like your older Jazz records got played on something less than ideal. A lot of turntables from the fifties through early sixties tracked around nine grams.

Does your cartridge have the stabilizer and do you use it?

 

Might get flamed for this but if you know the pivot to spindle distance of your tonearm, you can get this free customized template from Conrad Hoffman.
http://www.conradhoffman.com/chsw.htm

 

I am not sure I know what a stabilizer on a cartridge is so I am probably not using it.

 

jlw, I might take you up on that Mint

 

If you are a visual learner, Michael Fremer's turntable setup DVD was an invaluable tool for me several years ago. Things like azimuth made a lot more sense when you can see drawn animations explaining it.

 

That is likely because the S curve of the tone arm isn't perfectly formed, with a little bit of error. Just remember, don't worry about what the tone arm or the head shell looks like, worry about what the cartridge looks like. My AT cart on the JVC tone arm angles a little bit compared to the head shell, but the cartridge itself is parallel with the lines on the protractor.

And why go through all this? Well, you are playing two groove walls at once. If the stylus is not exactly and perfectly parallel to the groove, one channel will actually be playing a tiny bit ahead of the other. Not good.

 

I second the motion for the GeoDisc.

You can still get em at Music Direct. Between that, getting your table level and correctly setting tracking force and anti skate, you should be very close.

If you feel really ambitious, you can go all the way and set VTA later.

Azimuth wont be a big deal on the PL120 or the SL1200, because the headshell won't let it get too far out of whack.

Double check the level though, that's the biggest culprit of bad sound and you only need a level!

 

I use the Hoffman also. Download this neat little program and print a real arc protractor for your turntable. Just measure from the center of your spindle to the center of your arm pivot to get the mounting distance. I used the default settings and only entered my mounting distance. I like to use overhead projector inkjet film and put it on top of a record in a white sleeve on the platter.

 

Just out of curiosity, there are many books in the Dummies series, including Dachshunds for Dummies, which I bought before I got those three trouble-makers into my house (just kidding, I love them all). Is there a title Stereo for Dummies (or is it more like MP3 or iPod for Dummies)?